Free Drug Rehab

Sometimes I hear that people are interested in free drug rehab. There can be many reasons that you might want to look into a free drug rehab program however it usually boils down to combination of two things: a drug problem and a lack of money.

Well this a natural combination that tends to go together more often than I am comfortable with. So, like many drug and alcohol addicts you have spent all your money and can’t afford rehab so you’re looking for a free option. Well, the news is not entirely good here but it’s not all bad either.

First, there is such a thing as free drug rehab. There are programs operated by charities and sometimes churches or the government which give you access to twelve step education and other things that you probably need if you are going to survive. That’s the good news.

Unfortunately, there is some bad news in this equation as well. Free drug rehabs, having the virtue of being free, are pretty messy places. I have heard stories of rehabs run by the state or Salvation Army that are little more than flop houses for poor, often times homeless addicts. Now this is not to say that if someone is poor that they don’t deserve access to rehab or treatment. No, that’s not what I am saying at all. What I am saying however is that if you are not homeless you probably will not get too much out of a rehab that is designed to help this type of person.

However, if you are homeless then I bet that a free rehab would be better than what you are doing right now. At a free drug rehab you’ll learn the basics of recovery from drug and alcohol addiction. This basis is found in the twelve steps of alcoholics anonymous, or the twelve steps of narcotics anonymous, and the many traditions and time-honored practices of that fellowship.

You can expect to learn about the twelve steps and how to take action to affect a positive change in your life. You’ll learn how to live without drugs and alcohol and how to function sober. However, a free rehab is not necessarily going to get you a job or place you in a halfway house that you can afford. Life is tough and so is early sobriety so you’re going to have to awaken to a few realities.

First, don’t expect paradise at rehab. A rehab or treatment center that doesn’t cost anything is not going to be any good in areas like comfort. Expect borderline unsanitary conditions in the restrooms, some violent and mentally ill homeless people as your peers, and terrible food. That much is pretty much guaranteed. However, that doesn’t mean that a free rehab can’t be effective. You don’t need good meals or pretty people to get clean and sober. You need people who are real and have been the same places that you have been. You can find this at a charitable drug rehab center like those run by the salvation army.

Remember to be courteous. The people who work at a free rehab are really selfless people. They are not getting rich by being there, they are helping you out of the kindness of their hearts. So treat them as such. Your counselor is probably making a very tiny stipend or salary and he has the job of trying to teach a very unteachable populace how to learn skills to prosper in life. It is a tough job and the last thing such a person needs is some drug addict acting like a diva so try to behave yourself and remember who is the homeless addict and who is the person trying to help you.

There is not any data that I have seem suggesting that free drug rehabs are more or less effective that their paid counterparts. I have only been to paid rehabs and I believe that I am biased because of that fact. I have not, to be honest, heard many good things about free drug rehabs. If I needed to go back to rehab (god forbid) I would inquire into a paid rehab long before I would look into a free one. But that’s just me.

If you don’t care too much about the things that I mentioned above then a free rehab can work wonders for you. Never underestimate the quality of the miracle that can take place if you simply let it happen. There is no need for you to be living like a degenerate on the streets as an addict. Chances are you’re better than that and this whole situation just sort of happened. The key is to get off the streets as soon as you can before you become adjusted to living that way. In that way a free drug rehab can be a life saver. It can be a place to give you three hots and a cot and some clean time to let you reprioritize your life.

There is no need to think a lot about what has happened and to get rooted in self pity. This is the time to take a chance to break out of a pattern of living that has not been working and begin anew in a life full of meaning and free of drugs and alcohol. I want to say that regardless of your financial means, sobriety is a gift that can be achieved by anyone. No one deserves to live in misery and poverty. And just because you are broke today does not mean that you have to be broke and drunk your entire life. As I said before, let the miracle happen.

Free drug rehab can truly save lives. Maybe even yours.